Moab Falls in a Night
Moab is destroyed in a single night, and the chapter is mostly the sound of it — shaved heads, weeping on rooftops, fugitives climbing the road in tears. The prophet's own heart cries out for her. No rescue is offered; more is promised.
15 1An oracle about Moab. In one night Ar of Moab is destroyed, ruined; in one night Kir of Moab is destroyed, ruined. 2Up to the temple and to Dibon they go, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard shaved off. 3In its streets they put on mourning clothes; on its rooftops and in its squares everyone wails, melting down in tears. 4Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles within him. 5My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. Up the ascent of Luhith they go, weeping as they climb; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of ruin. a a v5 Even as judgment falls, the Father's own heart cries out for Moab — his grief reaches toward a people outside Israel, longing for them too. 6The waters of Nimrim are dried up; the grass is withered, the new growth gone, nothing green remains. 7So they carry away over the Brook of the Willows the wealth they gained and what they stored up. 8For the cry has gone around the territory of Moab; her wailing reaches Eglaim, her wailing reaches Beer-elim.
9The waters of Dimon are full of blood, yet I will bring still more upon Dimon—a lion for the survivors of Moab, for those who remain in the land.
